Power of The Random Walk: Why Your Detours Are More Valuable Than Your Plans6 min read

We often imagine life as a straight line. Do X, get Y, or go from point A to point B. But most of us already know, life doesn’t always work out like that. 

In our treacherous yet beautiful reality, the path looks more like what mathematicians call a “random walk with drift.”. It is a messy, unpredictable journey influenced by detours: chaos, choices, failures, and fortunes. 

It’s like taking a walk to the stream. But on your way…

• You encounter a broken bridge and take a new route.
• You get lost along your way.
• You take some wrong turns and then right turns.

Eventually, you get to the stream, but only after you’ve covered more ground than you planned.

That’s how growth, learning and life in general actually work.

Everyone’s Taking The Random Walk—They Just Don’t Say It Out Loud

Ask any entrepreneur who’s “made it,” and you rarely get a straight answer.

They might pause. Shrug. Say it was timing, a random tweet, a blog, a product, or a lucky break they didn’t even notice at the time.

Most times, it’s all of it, and none of it. The dots only connect in hindsight.

As Steve Jobs put it:

“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward.”

I used to think success came from having a fixed mindset at all costs.

When I first set out to make money online, I was overly confident. I’d say things like, “Just do what you’ve always wanted,” as if life was that simple.

Almost five years later, I know better.

Now, I speak with more caution. I plan with humility. Because I’ve learned something that should be obvious, but often isn’t:

Life doesn’t always honour our plans with neat outcomes.

• Our parents might have hoped for more than their grocery store.
• Our teachers might’ve dreamed of being scientists.
• That bus driver you see every day might’ve wanted to be an athlete.

Sometimes dreams delay. Sometimes they shift. Sometimes they disappear altogether.

But if we stay open –  keep learning, adapting, and using what we have – then even the detours can become stepping stones. 

The Random Walk Might Be For The Best

I thought I’d be taking photographs and writing about them by now.

But life had other plans.

Today, I write SEO content. I retouch photos for other photographers. I dabble in design. I study sales. I try to make ends meet.

At first, it felt like setbacks.
Now, I see it as a foundation.

One day, I might run my own photography business—built on sharp writing, polished design, and an SEO-driven blog. I’ll pitch my services with clarity, tell client stories that convert, and create my own zines, books, and social media content with refined taste. And maybe, with the experience I’ve gathered along the way, I’ll go on to build a SaaS product—or even an organisation like Magnum Photos.

And none of this would be possible if I hadn’t taken the random walk.

Sometimes, the detour isn’t a delay. It is the bridge.

How Random Walk Compound Like Fibonacci 

In school, I was terrible at math. English wasn’t much better. I faked understanding just to avoid being called out.

But one thing stuck: the Fibonacci sequence.
1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21…

Each number is a sum of the two before it. You’ll find the pattern in sunflowers, spiral galaxies, even human bodies.

And lately, I’ve started seeing it in my own life. The setbacks weren’t failures. They were summing up my growth.

Yes, the detours help you grow:

• Tolerance for uncertainty – when plans fail, but you keep going.
• Courage – when people think you’ve failed, but you keep building.
• Patience – accepting that real growth never happens on your timeline.
• Humility – when you realise how little you know about what you thought you understood.
• Identity fluidity – the strength to say “I’ve succeeded” and “I’ve failed”, and never feeling ashamed.

These aren’t mere virtues. They’re survival traits, especially in a world where AI and machines are replacing humans easily.

Still, we often resist this. Even the best of us. We cling to the original script. We avoid detours because we’re scared of feeling lost, or worse, looking like we don’t know what we’re doing.

If you’re still young, today might be your lucky day. You have time, more than someone in their 60s. Fewer responsibilities demanding your money. More freedom to mess up, recover, and try again.

If you pay attention, each failure could be an opportunity to sharpen your instincts, learn how to pack backup plans, master the art of spotting issues early, and become adept at pivoting fast.

So that when the real opportunity shows up (one that would’ve eluded or crushed your older self) you’ll gracefully handle it. 

“There is nothing for you to go back and live over, or fix, or feel regret about now. Every part of your life has unfolded just right.” – Esther Hicks.

Conclusion: Become Someone Who Can Survive In Any Terrain

The question isn’t whether life will knock you off course. It will, God knows. 

And sometimes, it feels like even He is watching from the sidelines, waiting to see how creatively you’ll crawl back. 

So the question is no longer “Will you succeed?”

It’s “Can you become someone who survives anything?”

Because maybe the goal was never the original plan. Maybe it was to become the better version of yourself that no detour could destroy.

Or as Søren Kierkegaard put it:

“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”

And maybe that’s the only motivation you need.

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Thank you for reading to the end. If you found this helpful, please share it with family, friends, or a colleague who might need or appreciate these ideas. 

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